Going into The Voice's two-night finale, contestant Brynn Cartelli was obviously dealing with all the expected stresses, compounded by the fact that she's only 15 years old. But while many people might have chosen an easy and comfortable tune to hang their hat on for Night 1, Cartelli chose a song from an artist only the most confident Voice hopefuls dare cover: Adele. When CinemaBlend spoke with the big winner, I lauded her performance of "Skyfall" and asked how she came around to choosing that ambitious track for the finale, and here's how she answered:
It was really hard for me. A lot of people always request for me to sing an Adele song, but I mean, that's Adele. Obviously, I'm going to get compared to her. It always just seems like that. So I needed to do something where no one was going to compare me to Adele. Then it came down to song choice. And here's the thing, I didn't even go in thinking I wanted to sing Adele. It was the song 'Skyfall' that really stood out to me, and I knew going in it was a risk, but I wanted to make it so that dark sound was really highlighted in that whole performance.
As one of the most successful musicians of the century so far, Adele stands out from the pack for many reasons, with her range getting much of the attention. And not exactly for the glass-smashing high notes of Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, but for how lush her lower and deeper registers can get. And The Voice stage, where nerves and live audiences collide, doesn't exactly make singers froth at the mouth to try revamping any songs in Adele's discography. So perhaps it makes sense that Brynn Cartelli was first inspired to cover "Skyfall" from the song itself, as opposed to coming into the finale specifically wanting to impress everyone with an Adele track.
Even if that's the case, it's still an extremely admirable choice, since "Skyfall" sounds like almost nothing else in music these days, making it all the more difficult to try and change the sound up. So Brynn and coach Kelly Clarkson had their work cut out for them in figuring out how to make such an iconic song (and film theme) match Cartelli's own strengths and vibes without losing what makes the song special. I, for one, think she pulled it off in spades. And during our talk, Cartelli spoke more about her embrace of music's darker tones.
That's what I want to do [with my music], and that's what my album's gonna sound like. It's not gonna be all ballads, of course, but it's gonna have that dark rich sound that's very soulful. I just love when people really showcase their dark side, and I think that it's not shown enough. Because everyone's always so impressed by the high notes, so when you can sink into those low notes and really make those shine, I think it's beautiful. And I was really proud of how 'Skyfall' turned out because of it, and because of the dramatics of it.
While there's no timeline for when Brynn Cartelli's album might make its way to fans' CDs and music streaming services, we at least have an idea of what we can expect to hear from it. On the flip side, Cartelli also told me that the original track she performed during the finale, "Walk My Way," will not be so indicative of her own personal sound, and it was partially chosen as a gateway track to bridge together the pop-ish sound that she brought out on The Voice and the darker sounds she wants her solo career to be known for.
To relive Brynn Cartelli's fantastic "Skyfall" performance, just check out the video below.
The Voice won't be around on NBC for quite a few months, but fans can expect to see current standout coach Kelly Clarkson returning for Season 15 alongside Jennifer Hudson and her frequently airborne shoes. Until then, stay tuned for more new music from Brynn Cartelli, and then head to our summer premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way.
